Thermal Plumes using the Lattice Boltzmann Equation

The lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE) is a simple and powerful method for the study of flows. To study heat transfer a temperature field is coupled to the usual particle field via the body force (G.~Barrios del Valle et al JFM, {\bfseries 522}, 91 (2005)). In this contribution we study plume formation in two dimensional cavities with one or more plumes using the LBE scheme with heat transfer. Our results compare favorably with experiments and other numerical techniques (E.~Moses et al, JFM {\bfseries 251}, 581 (1993), E.~Kaminski, C.~Jaupart, JFM {\bfseries 478}, 287 (2003), K.~Ichimaya, H.~Saiki, Int.~J.~Heat and Mass Transfer, {\bfseries 48}, 3461 (2005)).